No injuries and no structures have been damaged. Five helicopters, 35 engines and five handcrews were battling the blaze in the hills north of the 134 Freeway. Firefighters from the city and county of Los Angeles and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection were also fighting the blaze.

The 2 Freeway was closed in Glendale, and traffic was backed up at Chevy Chase Drive and California Avenue. The haze of the smoke hung close in the hills while the thumping of helicopters spun overhead.

Homes between the 2100 and 2700 blocks of Chevy Chase Drive were evacuated. All of Glenoaks Canyon to Scholl Canyon was evacuated because of weather conditions.

While winds are expected to die down this evening, Lorenz said flames have the potential of creating their own windstorms, posing another threat.

Lorenz credited canyon residents for being diligent and clearing brush from their homes and the hillside.

Glendale firefighters, he said, had been preparing and planning for brush fires due to the recent high winds.

The California attorney general’s office has asked the state Supreme Court to depublish a controversial ruling that it argues will impede the state's ability to encourage conservation by charging people higher rates when they use excessive amounts of water.

A Los Angeles Department of Water and Power audio-visual technician was charged Thursday with misappropriating more than $4 million in public funds, creating another financial scandal for a city-owned utility that is about to request permission to raise rates.

One of the financial lifelines of California's bullet train project has been $3.2 billion in federal grants. But a provision included in a key transportation funding bill passed by the House of Representatives on Tuesday could place a roadblock on future federal payouts.